Associated Press stories, Page 301
Nora Roberts is happily defying genres, 250 books in
NEW YORK — Nora Roberts is so prolific she had to take up a pen name so her publisher could release more books by her each year. “I’m a fast writer,” Roberts told The Associated Press in a rare interview. She typically releases four books a year, and has for...
Japan tries to rescue man stuck in sinkholeVideo
TOKYO — A truck that fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened on a road near Tokyo has captured national attention as attempts to rescue the elderly driver drag on. Residents near the hole have taken shelter at a local school, and there were worries Thursday about flooding and leaking...
6 members of Boston skating club are among those killed in plane crash
NORWOOD, Mass. — Two teenage figure skaters, their mothers and two world champion coaches from Boston were among the 14 members of the skating community killed when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River. Skating Club...
Jaromir Jagr selling majority stake in his hometown Czech ice hockey team
KLADNO, Czech Republic — Ice hockey great Jaromir Jagr is selling a majority stake in his hometown team the Kladno Knights in the Czech league. Jagr said on Thursday he’s selling an 80% stake to businessman Tomas Drastil while holding on to the remaining minority stake. Financial details were not...
President Trump sounds the same. His White House — so far — couldn’t be more different
NEW YORK — The marathon Q&A sessions are back, along with the cream Oval Office rug and the Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk. So, too, are the late-night social media posts that ricochet across the globe and the barrage of executive orders. But in 10 days, Donald Trump...
Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Israel begins releasing Palestinian prisoners after delay
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday after eight hostages in the Gaza Strip were freed by militants earlier in the day in a sometimes chaotic process that briefly called the exchange into question and underscored the fragility of a ceasefire that began this...
Here are some of the deadliest plane crashes in U.S. history
An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington and multiple people were killed. Fatal crashes of commercial aircraft in the U.S. have become a rarity. The last...
What is known about the collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter near D.C.
A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., sending the two aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River and killing everyone on board. The collision occurred at around 9 p.m. Wednesday in one of the world’s...
U.S. economy grows solid 2.3% from October to December, 2.8% for full year 2024
WASHINGTON — The American economy ended 2024 on a solid note with consumer spending continuing to drive growth. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.3% annual rate from October through December. For the full year,...
NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts take their first spacewalk together
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive...
Teens from a Boston skating club, their mothers, and coaches among passengers killed in air crash
WASHINGTON — A crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter has killed teen figure skaters returning from a national meet with their mothers and coaches, as well as a group of union steamfitters from the Washington, D.C. area. They were among 60 travelers and four crew members...
Donald Trump talks so much that even his White House stenographers are struggling to keep up
WASHINGTON — The White House stenographers have a problem. Donald Trump is talking so much, the people responsible for transcribing his public remarks are struggling to keep up with all the words. There were more than 22,000 on Inauguration Day, then another 17,000 when Trump visited disaster sites in North...
Midair collision kills 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost a quarter centuryVideo
ARLINGTON, Va. — A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, officials said Thursday, as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. At least 28 bodies were pulled...
Aircraft down near Washington’s Reagan Airport, and takeoffs and landings are halted
ARLINGTON, Va. — An aircraft went down on Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan National Airport, and all takeoffs and landings have been halted, according to the airport and law enforcement. Multiple helicopters, including those from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. military, were flying...
Cryer scores 17 to lead No. 6 Houston past West Virginia 63-49 for 13th straight winVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — L.J. Cryer scored 17 points and No. 6 Houston never trailed in beating West Virginia, 63-49, on Wednesday night for the Cougars’ 13th straight win. Joseph Tugler added 12 points and Milos Uzan scored 10 for Houston (17-3, 9-0 Big 12). The Cougars’ 18-game league winning streak...
Dave Matthews won’t perform at FireAid or a MusiCares benefit, citing a critical family illness
LOS ANGELES — Dave Matthews will no longer perform at FireAid, a star-studded benefit concert organized for Los Angeles-area wildfire relief, or the MusiCares Person of the Year benefit gala this week. According to a post shared to the official Dave Matthews Band Instagram account, “due to a critical illness...
PGA Tour contemplates announcing fines as part of study into slow playVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The PGA Tour is taking a hard look at whether to allow rangefinders and publicize violations as part of a comprehensive study on pace of play and other enhancements to the game that have come out of a survey of 50,000 golf fans. Tour officials were...
Fact focus: No evidence that $50 million was designated by the U.S. to buy condoms for Hamas
During a signing ceremony Wednesday for the Laken Riley Act, President Donald Trump claimed that his administration had “identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas.” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, made a similar claim on Tuesday during her debut press briefing,...
Pebble Beach with its beauty and loaded field gives the PGA Tour a chance to shineVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — For a sport needing a jolt of energy, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is as good a test as any. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy make their PGA Tour season debuts, and Jordan Spieth returns after having wrist surgery last summer. The field is stacked. The...
Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension
WASHINGTON — Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to three people familiar with the matter. It’s the latest instance of a large...
West Virginia couple convicted of forced labor, human trafficking of adopted kids
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia jury has convicted a couple who were accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children, including locking some of them in a shed, forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets. The jury deliberated for eight hours before...
Utah Hockey Club narrows choice of a permanent name to 3 finalists. It won’t be the Yeti
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club has chosen three finalists for the permanent team name it will adopt beginning with the 2025-26 NHL season. The franchise will use a final round of fan voting to decide among the Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch. Team officials...
St. Louis Blues move to mutually terminate the remainder of Brandon Saad’s contractVideo
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues and Brandon Saad agreed to mutually terminate the remainder of his contract, which would make him a free agent and able to sign with any team in the NHL. The Blues announced they are putting the veteran forward on unconditional waivers Thursday. Saad...
Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace. The instructions were published...
Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead Environmental Protection Agency as Trump vows to cut climate rules
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles. The vote was 56-42...
